The Austrian replaced Marcus Thuram at half-time in a performance with little chance. He was the one who came up with opportunities in the second half, but he made poor use of the first two.
In the 49th minute, Federico Dimarco hit a cross behind the defence. At the far post, the ball reached Arnautovic. He lunged forward and kicked the ball far over.
A quarter of an hour later, he got an even bigger chance, after a nice wall play with team captain Lautaro Martínez. He was able to finish from close range, but again sent the ball over the crossbar.
In the 79th minute it was his turn. After a loss of the ball by Reinildo, Inter quickly countered and Martínez was played through. Jan Oblak saved alone with the Argentine, but gave the rebound out to the side. Arnautovic appeared there and scored from an acute angle. Samuel Lino tried to save on the line, but was unsuccessful.
Defended himself
Until then, Diego Simeone’s Atlético team looked to be able to defend themselves to a very good starting point ahead of the second leg. The visitors in green created almost nothing, but didn’t miss many chances either.
Martínez came to the best opportunities in a chance-poor first half. In the 36th minute, he headed Nicolo Barella’s cross and recorded the game’s first finish between the posts, but it was easy for Oblak.
Two minutes later, a turnover at the halfway line put the Atlético defense in trouble. Thuram played Martínez free, but the shot was too poor, and via an opponent the ball ended up wide.
Just before the break, Thuram shot hard, but straight at Oblak.
Tribute to Brehme
On Monday, it was ten years since Atlético Madrid, in Simeone’s first CL season as coach, won away against Milan at the San Siro in the round of 16, en route to the CL final. This time there was a loss in the same arena, but the excitement about advancement is still there.
Inter played with mourning bandages after Andreas Brehme’s death on Tuesday night. Brehme played for Inter from 1988 to 1992 as part of a German trio with Lothar Matthäus and Jürgen Klinsmann, winning the league and the UEFA Cup, among other things. The Inter-Germans also became world champions on Italian soil in 1990, with Brehme as the match winner in the final.
(©NTB)